16 January 2007, 16:00 PM
  • Figures released by the British Retail Consortium's (BRC) Shop Price Index show that overall prices were 2.28% higher in December 2006, than in December 2005.

This is the sixth consecutive month that the inflation rate has shown a year-on-year increase and the inflation rise in December was the highest since March 2004.

According to the BRC, the main driver behind the inflation was food, where high commodity costs and seasonal prices outweighed any discounting on the part of retailers.

In December, shop prices rose by 0.29%. This, says the BRC, was due to an increase in both the food and non-food indices, rising by 0.59% and 0.15% respectively. The month-on-month rise in the food index is the largest since February 2006.

Originally published by www.foodanddrinktowers.com